Older youth in foster care continue to need our help

6:51 PM,
May 17, 2013

Written by

Mary Beth Bonaventura and Sam Criss

As any parent of a teenager knows, 18-year-olds may be old enough to be recognized as legal adults, but not all are prepared to face the world alone, without the support and encouragement of a family.

Teenagers in foster care are no different. Yet, far too many of them in Indiana and across the country approach adulthood facing tremendous challenges, having aged out of a system before being connected to a permanent family, and unprepared to be on their own.

There are 400,000 children currently in foster care in the United States. Each year, about 26,000 of them become too old to continue ...